Skynet or: How I learned to stop worrying and love AI

[chasfh]

14 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Love it.

So I have a theory that not until all current forms of on-line and electronic communication have become completely polluted, fake dominated and devalued, will the demand for new systems of thoroughly vetted and reliable information become high enough that new forms that guarantee high levels of verifiability get created and adopted.

First they’re gonna have to siphon as much money out of it all as they can get. Nothing changes until they do that.

[romad1]

Was just doing a webinar on AI and project management.  Two bullets stood out: 

• Hallucinations are a real problem
• Sycophancy is a real problem. 

Telling you only what you want to hear is not usually a good strategy for successful outcomes. 

[chasfh]

So I’m finding that AI is a really good enhancement to my own intelligence, rather than a replacement for it.

I wanted to invest a little in some emerging technologies. I’d had a pretty good run with AI-based securities and wanted to roll some of those gains over into whatever “the next big thing” might be.

I use a LLAMA to help me identify what those technologies might be and the companies best suited for growth within each. I figured quantum computing would be one of them—I had actually been in IONQ for a bit before, getting whipsawed back and forth until I finally said enough and got out with a couple extra bucks.

However, it pointed out to me that quantum is today where AI was in 2012: certain in its potential, but more in the science project stage. I looked into that, and it seemed right. made a lot of sense.

It then highlighted some other interesting categories instead: grid modernization, commercial nuclear technology, satellite technology, space-based consumer technology, advanced health tech, metabolic biopharmaceuticals. It then provided a bunch of companies for me to consider. I dug into each to try to determine out which of themhave the highest wheat-to-chaff ratio, bounced my resulting list off AI, honed it, and I was ready to go.

I also used AI to help me figure out how to place the investments, specifically, which I should buy all upfront and which I should buy in stages. I then did some research into that process to figure out which parts of it made the most sense.

Then I made the buys.

In no way was I ever going to ask AI for five or ten hot companies and then throw money into whatever they came up with. But in terms of giving me a starting point, AI was fantastic at coming up with possibilities I would never have come up with myself, and ideas about approach that I hadn’t really given much thought to before.

As I say, I used AI to enhance my own intelligence, rather than replace it. I’m becoming a big fan.

[gehringer_2]

34 minutes ago, chasfh said:

First they’re gonna have to siphon as much money out of it all as they can get. Nothing changes until they do that.

I don't think it has to be a matter of replacement - all the entertainment/social interaction sites can remain profitable - I don't think that precludes the rise of new high trust sources. There already are some actually. Ironically, I think NPR, and public radio locally, which have found that public support is strong after being cut off the government trough, is in much better shape to concentrate on the quality of their journalism now that they can stop arguing internally about the risk to the government $ on every story they do. 

Edited 9 hours ago by gehringer_2

[oblong]

46 minutes ago, romad1 said:

Was just doing a webinar on AI and project management.  Two bullets stood out: 

• Hallucinations are a real problem
• Sycophancy is a real problem. 

Telling you only what you want to hear is not usually a good strategy for successful outcomes. 

I think about this kind of thing a lot with regard to media/entertainment in general.  For the last 20 years or so as we've moved into an On Demand reality.  We watch and listen and consume that which we've specifically asked for.  Movies, music, TV shows..... I think that's messed with our brains.  Sometimes its good to be bored and pushed things because that's your only choice.

 

[romad1]

2 hours ago, oblong said:

I think about this kind of thing a lot with regard to media/entertainment in general.  For the last 20 years or so as we've moved into an On Demand reality.  We watch and listen and consume that which we've specifically asked for.  Movies, music, TV shows..... I think that's messed with our brains.  Sometimes its good to be bored and pushed things because that's your only choice.

 

Concur

[Deleterious]

I added custom instructions to ChatGPT to make it pushback more.  If you don't want that permanent solution, then write your prompt to include some phrases that will make it challenge you a bit more.  Play devil's advocate, give me a no BS critique of this idea, respond as if you disagree completely, etc.  You can also just flat out ask it to act as a red team for your idea.  

[chasfh]

2 hours ago, Deleterious said:

I added custom instructions to ChatGPT to make it pushback more.  If you don't want that permanent solution, then write your prompt to include some phrases that will make it challenge you a bit more.  Play devil's advocate, give me a no BS critique of this idea, respond as if you disagree completely, etc.  You can also just flat out ask it to act as a red team for your idea.  

How did you phrase the pushback, exactly? How is it working for you?

[Deleterious]

20 minutes ago, chasfh said:

How did you phrase the pushback, exactly? How is it working for you?

Quote

From now on, don't just agree with me. Your job is to challenge me.

1. Question my assumptions - What am I blindly accepting as fact?

2. Give counterarguments - What would a smart skeptic say?

3. Test my logic - Where are the holes in my reasoning?

4. Offer alternative views - What's a better way to frame or approach this?

5. Prioritize truth over agreement - Even if I don't like the answer, tell me what's real

It works pretty well for now.  I'm sure I will continue to fine tune it as I ask more and more questions.  Some of the pushback and alternative ideas can be pretty weak at times.  Like it just offers them up because I told it to.